Gender Inequality In Susan Glaspell's Trifles

Gender inequality has been an ongoing issue for countless years and has been a major reason for the many unsettling disputes between the two equal gender groups. As time makes its way forward, it would seem that that gender inequality would become more obsolete, but unfortunately, only the expectations of genders have changed. In Glaspell’s Trifles, this is an ongoing issue throughout the story. The protagonists, which are women, in this story are faced with tremendous amounts of harsh comments from the men, making the women feel less important to their male counterparts. As a result of this, the women themselves are also slightly biased in favor of the woman that is being prosecuted for manslaughter; it portrays to the men that the women are “ loyal to [their] sex” (Glaspell 598). Glaspell portrays this conflict between men and women through the …show more content…
It is clearly stated, by a man, that, “women are used to worrying over trifles” (Glaspell 598). This snide statement contributes to the title itself and is clearly an indication of how these men feel about the roles of women. Then, another remark is made saying, “it’s no more than [the men’s] duty” to criticize a woman’s kitchen (Glaspell 599). Therefore, implying that the man has a right to criticize and belittle a woman as if she is a lesser being. More comments were made after the women were curious about how the jailed woman was going to piece her quilt, as the man scoffed, “They[ are wondering] if she was going to quilt it or just knot it” ( Glaspell 601). This not only strengthens the statement about “worrying over trifles,” but is another example of a man in this story, acting as if a woman does not matter as much as a man. Another woman even defends the man after this statement saying “they’ve got awful important things on their minds”, as if the men have more significance in their lives than the women (Glaspell